Building networks and making paths: the case of social migration networks in Cuacnopalalan, Puebla

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to analyze the role played by social migration networks in national and international migration processes in Cuacnopalan, a municipality of Palmar de Bravo, Puebla (one of the new rural regions that have been incorporated into the international migration dynamic). To this end, the concept of social networks and social migration networks is used as a theoretical framework. The importance and function of social networks in population dynamics is addressed, since these social migration networks have favored the migration process in domestic groups in recent years, which has allowed a shift from national migration to predominantly international migration. These networks are based mainly on kinship, friendship, and countrymanship, and are of an economic nature. Likewise, this research allowed us to find that, while migration is one of the most important reproduction strategies of domestic groups, in this rural space, this strategy would be unthinkable without the development of an important network to be able to migrate. Thus, the existence of these networks constitutes an important intangible social capital, but it is manifested through the uninterrupted flow of migrants, who not only maintain an economic link but also a social and cultural one. In this way, social networks facilitate migration even when the monetary resources necessary for this costly process are not available.